Adfinis, a leading service provider of open source IT solutions, has announced its 25-year anniversary. Evolving from a small Swiss start-up to an international company present in six countries, the Adfinis management team calls for greater global focus on digital sovereignty – a key ingredient for building trust in the oncoming wave of digital and AI-native products.
In 2025, Adfinis reaches 25 years of delivering reliable IT solutions built on open source technology. Founded in 2000 in Switzerland, the company was built on a radical idea to work with open and shareable source code to improve the use of software without the restrictions of vendor lock-in. Adfinis’s success over the last quarter of a century has been built on close collaboration with like-minded vendors on solutions that address critical business concerns such as data privacy, cybersecurity, and software efficiency – not only in response to today’s most pressing challenges, but also for the long term. The Adfinis executive management team highlights the criticality of greater inter-organizational collaboration in tackling such challenges, and sees this as crucial for building trust in new digital solutions such as eVoting, eHealth, or in AI-native products where a higher perceived level of personal intimacy is demanded.
In the last few years alone, Adfinis has demonstrated the value of open source in bringing together stakeholders to deliver robust, sustainable, and efficient solutions. Dependence on a single provider is removed, and access to source code allows continuous improvement that benefits all software end users. For example, Adfinis developed the backend for Inosca, an open source platform used by six Swiss cantons to digitalize building approval processes that has since saved millions of dollars in public sector money. Adfinis has also become a key contributor to OpenBao, an open source secrets management solution – initially forked from HashiCorp Vault – for secure storage, access, and management of sensitive data such as API keys, passwords, and certificates. In both instances, as well as many others where Adfinis is involved, an inter-organisational approach has been seen as essential.
“Without the collaboration across the open source community, the big steps forward we have seen in digital, secure, and sustainable solutions for both private and public sector organizations would not have been possible. We believe that efficiency grows more rapidly when, rather than hoarding all the wins for yourself, you share progress with others and work on creating something even stronger – together. The importance of this cannot be overstated when it comes to how we will program and use new tools such as agentic AI. Only if data is accessible thanks to open file formats and open interfaces and APIs can we fully unlock the potential of these new technologies.”
– Nicolas Christener, Chief Executive Officer, Adfinis
Now in its 25th year, Adfinis is in the midst of further expanding its solutions both technologically and geographically. Their 2024 expansion into Egypt strengthened the company’s ability to deliver business solutions in the Middle East, adding to their “round-the-clock” services in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The expansion is also part of the company’s commitment to community building and creating opportunities for young talents in emerging tech hubs. With the growing public spotlight on e-services and AI tools, the company is taking a holistic approach to IT infrastructure design, management, and governance. Robust cybersecurity is a vital component. Particularly in response to stricter regulations like the EU's Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) and the NIS2 Directive, it has become crucial for companies to invest in fortifying their digital supply chains – especially for critical areas such as Secrets Management. Adfinis believes that the path forward requires sustainable solutions which are fundamentally open, simple, and reliable.
“The latest wave of regulations is a clear signal that trust and transparency are no longer optional; they are a prerequisite for doing business. This is especially true when it comes to managing 'crown jewels' – the digital secrets that power a company’s operations. In a world where supply chain attacks are a top threat, we need solutions we can audit and control without compromise. That’s why our investment in OpenBao is so vital. It’s an open source project that is openly governed, enabling true collaboration across the community. This approach ensures that the platform remains open, simple, reliable, and thus sustainable, giving businesses the transparency and control they need to meet these new standards and truly secure their digital supply chain.”
– Michael Hofer, Chief Technology Officer, Adfinis
The Adfinis Executive Management team, from left to right: Michael Hofer (CTO), Gil Oliveira (CCO), Thomas Köchli (COO/CISO and Member of the Board), Michael Moser (CGO and Chairman of the Board), Nicolas Christener (CEO and Member of the Board)
Adfinis’s solutions and managed services are intended to facilitate businesses in understanding and improving their systems and tools, even if a business does not have extensive IT expertise in house. To highlight the importance of collaboration, Adfinis will commemorate their 25-year anniversary in Bern on September 18, 2025, with an event that brings together employees, partners, and community members who have been integral to the Adfinis journey so far. The event is both a celebration and an important step in further strengthening vital connections for the development of society’s essential digital solutions.
Originally starting with a handful of software enthusiasts, Adfinis now employs a 150+ strong team and is a long-standing partner of SUSE, Red Hat, GitLab, HashiCorp, as well as other established companies active within the open source community. The company’s growth has accelerated rapidly in the last five years. Since 2020, Adfinis entities have been established in the Netherlands, Australia, Germany, New Zealand, and Egypt, strengthening their 24/7 follow-the-sun model for managed services. During this time, the company has also received several accolades, including SUSE’s ‘Solution Provider of the Year’ 2025, and GitLab’s ‘Services Partner of the Year’ (2024 in APAC, and 2023 in EMEA). Adfinis is a long-standing member and sponsor of associations like CH Open and Parldigi, which actively advocate for open standards and unrestricted digital tools.
For a deeper dive into Adfinis’s 25-year journey, including key milestones and landmark projects, read the company’s special anniversary story.
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Adfinis AG Communications Department [email protected] www.adfinis.com
About Adfinis Adfinis is a leading service provider of open source IT solutions, with established locations in Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, and Egypt. For over 25 years, Adfinis has delivered innovative, sustainable, and resilient IT solutions built on trustworthy open source technology.
In collaboration with industry leaders such as GitLab, Red Hat, SUSE, and HashiCorp, Adfinis offers clients a tailored approach covering the entire IT lifecycle. From strategy to execution, Adfinis provides consulting and planning, engineering expertise, and 24/7 managed services to ensure seamless, reliable operations. Serving a worldwide clientele, Adfinis embodies a legacy of innovation and a profound dedication to enhancing the open source ecosystem.